As early as the 11th century, Italian warfare was developing along lines which were unique in medieval Europe. This fragmented, cosmopolitan region, increasingly rich from international trade, saw the rise of independent cities able to fund armies of urban militia, sometimes defying the traditional feudal aristocracy. Against this background regional powers - the Normans, the Papacy, the German Emperors, the Angevins and Aragonese - manoeuvred for advantage. This engrossing account of the armies of northern and southern Italy - their organisation, command structure, strategy, tactics and fortifications - is illustrated with rare manuscript images, diagrams of fortifications, and eight striking colour plates showing armour and weapons of all types.

When "citizen-soldier" Alvin Coe Voris wrote his first letter to his beloved wife, Lydia, in 1861, he embarked on a correspondence that would span the duration of the Civil War. A former Ohio legislator, Voris filled his letters with keen insights into the daily life of soldiers, army politics, and such issues as the morality of combat and the evils of slavery. Often heartwrenching and invariably gripping, the 428 letters collected in this volume form an unbroken and unique Civil War chronicle. Voris's personal merit and political influence earned him the rank of brevet major general of volunteers. Known among his men as "Old Promptly," he strongly emphasized the soldierly precepts of order and duty on the battlefield. As leader of the 67th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Voris fought in the First Battle of Kernstown, Stonewall Jackson's only defeat. Though wounded in the attack on Fort Wagner during the siege of Charleston, he served in northern Virginia until General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Some of Voris's most impassioned letters depict his firsthand observations of slavery's effects on the nation as he condemned the cruelty of slaveowners and agonized over the predicament of his fellow man. At one point, Voris led an African American brigade consisting of nearly 3,000 soldiers, and soon after their first combat he wrote Lydia to praise the men's valor and fighting spirit. Discharged from military command in 1865, he remained an active, dedicated supporter of equal rights for African Americans. Edited and annotated by Jerome Mushkat, this exceptionally complete collection of letters reveals not only the daily life of a Civil War soldier but also the ideals and aspirations of a man of conscience whom duty called to the battlefield.

Many types of cavalryman are established in the imagination of the British public, but the Ironside retains his place as symbolic of the one occasion when the army took an active role in British politics. One reason is that he represents a unique period when ordinary people displaced the established order to take political control into their own hands. In the 19th century a rash of historical publications, paintings and statues with a civil war theme reflected the political divisions of Victorian society and Royalist and Parliamentarian causes were argued over again, reflecting the subtext of contemporary political struggles. This book attempts to take a wider view of the Ironside as a warrior who evolved from the experiments of the 16th and early 17th centuries to combine firepower with the armoured cavalryman. It reflects his wider service in the Royalist as well as the Parliamentarian armies and beyond the civil wars.

The Confederate armies included in their ranks a remarkable range of nationalities--among them Germans, Irish, Italians, French, Poles, Mexicans, Cubans, Hungarians, Russians, Swedes, Danes, and Chinese. Covering the complete story of the activities of the foreigners in the Confederacy--in both military and civil service--this book recognizes their many contributions to the cause of the South. First published in 1940, it remains the only work on the subject.

The story of an authentic American hero; This acclaimed biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, Chamberlain went on to serve four terms as governor of his home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College. He wrote prolificaly about the war, including The Passing of the Armies, a classic account of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac.

Osprey are confident in boasting that this remarkable three-part study will transform the research material available to the English-speaking student of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). Most know that Wellington's Portuguese troops were praised as the 'fighting cocks' of his army; fewer appreciate that they represented between half and one-third of his entire forces. Similarly, most uniform historians have been limited to a few half-understood paintings by Dighton, and brief notes from secondary sources. Rene Chartrand's recent primary research in Portuguese and British archives now offers a wealth of important new material. An excellent book - groundbreaking in its originality.

By age 35, General George B. McClellan (1826-1885), designated the "Young Napoleon," was the commander of all the Northern armies. He forged the Army of the Potomac into a formidable battlefield foe, and fought the longest and largest campaign of the time as well as the single bloodiest battle in the nation's history. Yet, he also wasted two supreme opportunities to bring the Civil War to a decisive conclusion. In 1864 he challenged Abraham Lincoln as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. Neither an indictment nor an apologia, this biography draws entirely on primary sources to create a splendidly incisive portrait of this charismatic, controversial general who, for the first eighteen months of the conflict, held the fate of the union in his unsteady hands.

The PzKpfw IV was essentially an integrated support weapon, and its involvement in WWII is difficult to separate from the story of the Panzerwaffe as a whole. A powerful and robust fighting machine, the PzKpfw IV was supplied to various allies of Germany, and remained in service with the Spanish and Finnish armies for some time after the end of the war. In the glory years of 1942-43 the PzKpfw IV was the mainstay of the Panzerwaffe, and Bryan Perrett's in-depth examination of this prolific fighting machine does full justice to the fascinating history and technical details of one of the greatest armoured vehicles ever to have fought.

Latin America is moving toward democracy. The region's countries hold elections, choose leaders, and form new governments. But is the civilian government firmly in power? Or is the military still influencing policy and holding the elected politicians in check under the guise of guarding against corruption, instability, economic uncertainty, and other excesses of democracy? The editors of this work, Brian Loveman and Thomas M. Davies, Jr., argue that with or without direct military rule, antipolitics persists as a foundation of Latin American politics. This study examines the origins of antipolitics, traces its nineteenth- and twentieth-century history, and focuses on the years from 1965 to 1995 to emphasize the somewhat illusory transitions to democracy. This third edition of The Politics of Antipolitics has been revised and updated to focus on the post-Cold War era. With the demise of the Soviet state and international Marxism, the Latin American military has appropriated new threats including narcoterrorism, environmental exploitation, technology transfer, and even AIDS to redefine and relegitimate its role in social, economic, and political policy. The editors also address why and how the military rulers acceded to the return of civilian-elected governments and the military's defense against accusations of human rights abuses.

Bergeron has produced a book. . . essential to the serious Confederate scholar. - Journal of American History In Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., examines the 111 artillery, cavalry, and infantry units that Louisiana furnished to the Confederate armies. No other reference has the complete and accurate record of Louisiana's contribution to the war. For each unit, Bergeron provides a brief account of its war activities, including battles, losses, and dates of important events. He also lists the units' field officers, the companies in each regiment or battalion, and the names of company commanders. ""This book should serve as a model for studies of other states in the Civil War."" - Military History of the Southwest

The T-34-85 tank is one of those rare weapons that have remained in service for more than half a century. First introduced in 1944, it has seen combat in nearly every corner of the globe. Steven Zaloga and Jim Kinnear look at this long-serving tank at length. Although long obsolete in Europe, it has proven a reliable and potent weapon in many Third World conflicts, and is still in service with more than a dozen armies around the world.

This study of the Russian army and how it has fared in the uncertain transitional period since independence in December 1991 provides the basis for understanding its present and potential future role in the new political developments within Russia. Following an historical overview of Russia's security agenda and an examination of the Russian/Soviet army's tradition of involvement in politics, the book then examines Russia's current security interests and the role of the army in protecting them. Geopolitical perspectives are linked to the security issues of the `Near Abroad', and to the nuclear dimension of security. Pavel K Baev then considers the question of the feasibility of political control over the Russian army. The problem of the politicization of the army is followed through the interlinked issues of stalled military reform and a drastically reduced military budget. Baev examines the current military role of the army with case studies on conflict management in the Caucasus and the army's performance in the role of peace-keeper in the Chechen War. Finally, the place of the army in Russia's peace-keeping activities within a broader European context is examined.

Over the centuries of their existence the Scottish regiments of the British Army have gained a reputation in war that is the envy of all and which can be matched, or surpassed, by very few. The very description 'Scottish soldier' conjures up images ranging from the 'thin red streak tipped with a line of steel' of the 93rd Highlanders at Balaclava, and the charge of the Scots greys at Waterloo (1815), to the more recent deeds of Scottish regiments in the Falkland Islands (1982) and the Persian Gulf (1990-1991). Mike Chappell chronicles the remarkable history of the Scottish units which fought in the two world wars.